Christmas Eve
by chrono96
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and Stiles, Lydia, Scott, Kira, and Liam are having a movie night. Movies, hot cocoa, truth or dare, and whispers from Lydia. What could be better? Stiles/Lydia/Stydia
1. Chapter 1

"So let's just watch a movie, then we can do all of our 'Christmas' stuff. Which pretty much only consists of drinking hot cocoa and eating tons of cookies, but who cares." Lydia says, plopping down on the couch. They all find their seats, and Stiles makes his way to his stack of movies.

"Obviously we're watching Star Wars," Stiles shrugs his shoulders as if it's an apparent choice, opening the DVD case.

They were having their weekly movie night at Stiles' house, but this time was different. It was Christmas Eve. Stiles' dad and Scott's mom were working, Liam's parents went to stay with family up-state, and Lydia's parents didn't care where she was, really. The only problem was Kira. She had convinced her parents to celebrate Christmas Eve the night before though, so she could be in on the movie night too. They were too happy to see that she had made friends to say no.

He heard boos from behind him, and he turned around, his eyebrows furrowed. "First of all, I'm really hurt. Second of all, Scott has never seen it. This is _my_ - well, my _dad's_ - house. We have to watch it." Stiles says, tilting his head. He looked over at Lydia for confirmation, but she turned away from his stare. She had a Santa Claus hat on, but of course it was a sexy version. Of course.

He and his dad had set the Christmas tree up a few weeks ago, and now it was in the corner of the room, bright and glowing. They had Christmas decorations all around, and he had all of his friends with him. He was determined to make it a great Christmas.

"Lydia...tell me...tell me you've seen Star Wars..." He says, closing his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry I actually have a life, Stiles! I have better things to do than sit around watching eight hour movies!" She says, throwing her hands in the air.

"I..." Is all he can get out, feeling completely defeated.

"I agree with Stiles," Kira says, looking around the room. She had become a lot more comfortable with the group, actually speaking out about things now. "I can't believe you guys have never seen it."

"Thank you Kira!" Stiles grins, breathing out a sigh. "Liam you've seen it, right?"

"Yeah. I was only like ten, but I still kind of remember." He replies, looking around the room.

"Oh, so last month then?" Stiles asks, not being able to pass up another age joke. Liam was always invited to hang out with the group now, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be jokes at his expense. Mostly from Stiles, despite the fact that he was only two years older than him. He laughs pretty hard at his own joke, but they all roll their eyes, groaning. "Sorry, buddy."

"Whatever," Liam replies as he looks down at his phone, trying not to smile.

"Right," Lydia says, letting out an annoyed sigh. "Shouldn't we be watching a Christmas movie or something? Where some bitter person makes some shitty promise and ultimately becomes a good person in the end?"

"I don't have any of those," He replies, shooting her a look.

"Just put it in." She sighs. "We could have probably watched the whole thing by now if it weren't for you whining."

"I'm so sorry that I'm trying to show you one of the best movies of all time. My bad!" He says, putting the DVD in. He stands up as it starts to play, and notices the only seat open is between Lydia and Scott. He sandwiches himself in-between them, and makes himself comfortable. Lydia leans against the side of the couch as much as she can, and crosses her arms.

Of course he quoted it word-for-word which got on everyone's nerves, but eventually Lydia decided that faking annoyance wasn't worth it. She finally turned and laid her head on Stiles' arm, and then hung her legs off the end of the couch.

"I'm so cold," She whispers, snuggling up to him. He pulled the blanket over both of them when he felt her shiver; and rubbed his hands on her arms trying to warm her up.

He had gotten used to being close to her; both of them hanging out a lot more than usual lately. Not by themselves most of the time, but he could have never imagined actually being this close to Lydia a year ago. Now it was normal.

"I'm thirsty," She says a few minutes later, sitting up.

"No. You stay here and watch the movie, I'll go get it." He says, standing up. "You can't miss any."

"God," She rolls her eyes, laughing. "Pepsi. Let's save the hot cocoa for later. Oh, and popcorn too, please."

"Fine," He replies, his heart melting from the grin she gave him. "Liam, you're helping me. Scott and Kira, do you want anything?!" He asks, trying to break them apart from their thirty minute make-out session. "Some oxygen, maybe?"

They pull apart briefly, Kira blushing slightly. "Nah, we're good." Scott laughs, pulling Kira in to kiss again, which seemed to make her happy.

"Alright," Stiles turns on his heels, Liam behind him like a puppy. They walk into the kitchen, and Liam grabs some drinks from the fridge as Stiles cooks a bowl of popcorn.

"So...What's up with you and Lydia?" Liam asks, leaning against the counter.

"What do you mean, '_me and Lydia_'?" Stiles asks calmly, but is secretly eager of what Liam had to ask. He darts his eyes around the room, trying to seem careless, even though he was everything but that.

"You seem into each other." He shrugs, acting like it's no big deal. "Are you two together or something?"

"_Lydia_ seems into _me_?!" Stiles asks a little too loudly, but lowers his voice, getting closer. "How? What do you mean?"

"So I'm guessing you're into her," Liam laughs, looking at Stiles. "I don't know. The way she looks at you, and she's always touching you."

"Really? I...I didn't know. You really think she likes me?" He asks, feeling a small bit ridiculous talking to a fifteen-year-old about a girl.

"Looks like it, dude. But don't ask me. I could be wrong." He says, and the timer starts to beep. Liam walks back into the living room, and hands Lydia her drink. Stiles takes a minute to breathe, before pouring the popcorn into a bowl. He takes a huge breath, and walks back into the living room. He wedged himself between Lydia and Scott again, holding the popcorn in his lap.

"Thank god, I'm so hungry." Lydia says beside him, shoving her hand in the bowl. She laid her head on his shoulder, watching the movie. She always was this close to him lately, but now that Liam had brought that up, he couldn't help but see it in a different way. But then again, she was like this with everyone. She was just an affectionate person, and if anyone replaced him in his spot right now, she'd be hugging on them as well. The brief spurt of happiness that Liam gave him was gone, leaving him with the empty feeling he usually carried around with him. He was used to it by now.

"Stiles," Lydia says, knocking her arm against his, breaking him out of his daydream. "What are you thinking about? You're always out of it."

"Nothing." He replies, smiling slightly. Scott and Kira weren't making out anymore, but they were giggling and whispering to each other, which was even worse. Liam was in the chair either silently watching the movie, or asleep.

"I don't believe that for a second," She laughs, looking up at him. The only light in the room was coming from the Christmas tree and TV, illuminating the side of her face. She looked so beautiful, and he could feel his heart beating faster.

"Why?" He asks, noticing their faces are slightly closer than before so they can be more quiet.

"You're too smart to not be thinking of anything," She shrugs, glancing over at the TV. "You're always daydreaming...Where do you go?"

His heart was pounding now; his palms sweating. No one ever noticed that his mind was always somewhere else. It was normally him thinking of Lydia of course; fantasizing about her confessing her love for him. Even when they were all in a big group, not one person would realize his mind wasn't really there at all.

"I just like to...think. About everything." He says, and she looks in his eyes, before turning and resuming to watch the movie.

"Okay, I'm really hungry." Scott says loudly, standing up and pausing the movie. Kira looks at him, smiling lovingly as if he had just proposed. Stiles thought Scott could probably say he was about to go to the bathroom and she'd think it was the sweetest thing he had ever said. He felt a twinge of jealousy when he was around them. He could see himself like that with Lydia one day, but he constantly had to remind himself that it wouldn't happen. "Who votes Chinese takeout?"

"That sounds so good right now." Lydia says, standing up and switching the light on. "I need to stretch my legs anyway."

"Liam wake up!" Stiles says, jumping on top of him.

"Stiles, get the hell off!" Liam groans, sitting up and stretching. Lydia laughed and shook her head, which made Stiles more than happy.

"Dude, it's only 8 P.M." Scott laughs, patting his back.

"Yeah, I just didn't get much sleep last night. And the light was off." He laughs, rubbing his eyes as he stood up.

"I'll order," Lydia says, taking her phone out of her purse and walking into the kitchen.

"Dude, what were you two whispering about?" Scott asks, and they somehow form a circle in the living room, all sticking their heads in and murmuring to each other.

"None of your business!" Stiles says, throwing his arms in the air.

"Come on, Stiles, we all know you're in love with Lydia." Kira says, surprising him.

"How do you know that?" He asks, exasperated. "Is it that obvious?"

"Of course!" She laughs, as if he can't believe she's asking. "I think Lydia's the only one who doesn't."

"So what were you two talking about?" Liam asks, looking at Stiles.

"Why do you all care so much?" He whispers loudly, pretending annoyance. It actually kind of made him feel good knowing that they wanted Lydia and him to be together almost as much as he did.

"Just hurry. She'll be back in a few minutes." Scott rushes him.

"It really was nothing. She said I was smart, though." Stiles grins, and they all pat him on the back, and Kira squeals with excitement.

"Ah, the friend zone." Liam says, shaking his head.

"The friend zone is bullshit, Liam," Stiles said, smacking him on the head. "It was made up by assholes who couldn't deal with a girl not liking them. She doesn't like me. That's it." He sighs, running his hand through his hair. "I just...I just wish there was something I could do to change that."

"What the hell is going on in here?" Lydia asks suddenly, making them all quickly disperse. They all did some gesture that confirmed they were all obviously startled, and Lydia rolled her eyes. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, narrowing her eyes at them.

"Nothing. We weren't doing anything." Stiles answers, laughing nervously.

"You're honestly the worst liar, Stiles." She sighs, but quickly drops it. "Whatever. I ordered the food. They said it would be delivered in twenty minutes. I also made hot cocoa for everyone since it's freaking forty-five degrees. Stiles, can you come help me?"

"Yeah, sure." He says, slightly panicked that she might have overheard their conversation. He quickly realized she hadn't, though. She grabbed the mugs, and smiled at him as she handed him a couple.

"Thanks," She nods, and he watches her walk back into the living room. "It's peppermint flavored."

"Thanks, Lydia." Scott says, holding the warm mug in his hands.

"What do you guys wanna do until the food gets here?" Lydia asks, taking a sip of her drink.

"How about…" Scott looks at Stiles with that mischievous smile he knew too well. "Truth or dare?"

"Oooh, that's fun." Lydia grins, looking between all of them. Stiles looked at Scott, silently telling him not to do anything horrible. They could talk to each other by just looking at one another; a great tool they picked up from being around each other so much. He just smiled in return, and they all sat down around the table, leaving Stiles with a horrible feeling in his stomach. He knew this wouldn't turn out well.

"Let's do spin the bottle truth or dare. Then it will be fair." Scott says, disappearing into the kitchen for a few minutes, before quickly returning with an empty bottle of root beer in his hands. Lydia turned on some Christmas music and got a plate of cookies from the kitchen, and then they were ready. "I'll go first."

Stiles scratched the back of his neck while it spun; praying to God that it wouldn't land on him or Lydia. He knew Scott, and he knew that he would dare them to do something horribly embarrassing if he got the chance. And even worse, he knew it would involve Lydia.

"Oooh, Liam." Scott smiles, but looks disappointed. Stiles was sure that all three of them had an alliance built; a silent agreement on what to do if it landed on Stiles or Lydia. "Truth or dare?"

"Hmm. Truth." He replies, looking slightly nervous.

"Do you like anyone?" He asks, going for the most cliché truth or dare question in the universe.

"I...I mean...I kind of like this girl named Lauren. She's in my English." He says, a tint of red on his face. They all give simultaneous 'AWW's', and a few of them even ruffle his hair and pat his back. He just smiles and shakes it off, embarrassed.

"Kira, your turn to spin." Scott says, and that familiar nervous feeling grew in Stiles' stomach once again.

"Okay," She takes a breath, and spins. His heart starts to race, but it lands on Scott. He breathes out a sigh of relief, and Lydia raises her eyebrow questioningly. He shakes his head, letting her know it was nothing.

"Dare." He says, grinning at her. She grins back, both of them stupidly in love to the point where it was almost sickening.

"Hmmm. I dare you to kiss me." She smiles, making them all groan. Well, except Scott, who looked more than willing. He pulls her in his arms for a dramatic effect, and kisses her passionately. They all shake their heads and laugh as they pull away; Stiles now realizing it's his turn. He was at least safe for another round. He spins it, and - of course - it lands on Lydia. She tilts her head and smiles at him, making his palms start to sweat.

"Dare." She says, narrowing her eyes. She gave off the vibe that she almost _wanted_ him to dare her to kiss him, but he quickly shook it off; realizing that would never happen in a million years. He could feel Liam, Scott, and Kira's eyes boring into his, but he ignored it.

"I dare you to...Kiss the delivery guy on the cheek when he gets here. Or she." He says, laughing.

"Asshole," She says, throwing a pillow at him, but laughing all the same. He feels butterflies in his stomach seeing her laugh - especially because of him.

"Dude. Truth or dare. It landed on you." Liam says, snapping Stiles out of his reverie. He shakes his head, finally coming back to the real world. Then he went into panic mode. If he said truth, he might have to admit things to Lydia that he never wanted to admit. Or he would get dared to do something horrible - which definitely involved Lydia too.

"Dare," He replied, realizing he'd rather do something than have to confess something to her.

"I dare you…" He starts to say, and Stiles gives him a look, trying to ask him to go easy. But he wasn't Scott, and he couldn't communicate like that with him. "Kiss Lydia." He says, and Scott gives him a knowing smile. They were trying to play match-maker.

"Wait, that's not fair. This is a dare for me, but that means Lydia is in on it too. I doubt she would even-"

"-I'll do it." She says, shrugging her shoulders.

"What? You will?!" He asks, gulping.

"Why not? It's not a big deal." She laughs, acting like nothing in the world was wrong.

"O-Okay." He says, completely bewildered. Scott and Kira are giving each other looks; completely happy that their plan worked. She stood up, and pulled him to his feet.

"Not in front of these perverts, though." She laughs, pulling him into the kitchen. He suddenly became aware of everything that could go wrong. He hadn't kissed anyone in months; what if he had forgotten how? Even worse, what if he was just naturally a horrible kisser? He remembered how he hadn't brushed his teeth since the morning, and also that she had way more experience than him.

So many things were running through his mind, before he heard a loud knock on the door; the loud pounds pulling him from his thoughts. She looked at him and unlaced their fingers; watching him for a second before turning and pulling money from her pocket.

"Hi!" He heard her say, and he turned and looked at Scott, his shoulders slumping.

"Close," Scott said, patting him on the back encouragingly.

"It doesn't matter. I don't even want it to happen, anyway." He says, looking down at his hands.

"What? Why not?" Liam asks, sounding completely confused.

"Because, it's like...It'll just make everything worse for me. She doesn't care about me like that. She just doesn't. It would just hurt me. Really bad." He laughs sadly, and they're all silent. They understood.

"I did your stupid dare, Stiles. It was some perverted old man, and he asked for my number." She laughs, cringing. He forces a laugh, and stands up, helping her with the food. "It's Christmas eve though, so I gave him a good tip at least."

They all got their food and cocoa, and sat down on the couch, playing the movie. Now that Scott and Kira were sitting like normal people, Stiles and Lydia didn't have to sit so close. He couldn't even look at her without feeling pain. He pushed it all away like he normally had to do, and watched the movie. They finished that movie and then put in another; by the time that one was done they were ready for bed.

He wished this night could last forever; not wanting to admit how lonely he is a lot of the time. His dad was always working, and Scott was always with Kira now. He didn't blame him, but it was hard to not have anyone to spend the holidays with.

"Kira, can you sleep with me? I know you want to stay with Scott, but I don't want to have to share a room with those nasty boys." She says jokingly.

"Yeah, of course." Kira smiles shyly.

"You guys can take my room if you want. It has a bigger bed. We'll take the guest room." Stiles offers, and Lydia nods.

They all say their good-nights, Scott and Kira whispering and exchanging kisses. Stiles gets dressed and brushes his teeth, before going into the guest room. He let Liam and Scott take the bed since they were guests, and he laid a blanket and pillows on the ground for himself.

An hour had passed, and he couldn't sleep. Scott and Liam had been snoring for probably half an hour by now, and he just laid there thinking. He thought about how he almost kissed Lydia, and he imagined what it would be like. Pulling her closer; feeling her lips against his, tasting her. He had to wipe his sweaty palms on his pajama pants just thinking about it.

He quietly got up, silently making his way to the bedroom door. He looked over and saw Scott and Liam cuddling, and it took everything in him not to laugh really loudly. He slipped out of the door, and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed as he turned the light on; grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. He had bought stockings for each of them and filled it with their favorite kinds of candy, and he wasn't going to hang them up until morning, but he decided to do it now anyway. He grabbed them out of the kitchen closet (he had to hide them so Scott wouldn't find it), and hung them all up on the mantlepiece in the living room. After he was done, he took a seat at the table, staring blankly at the wall. It was Christmas now.

He heard quiet footsteps coming down the stairs, and then Lydia appeared; her hair falling to her waist, with a t-shirt and pajama shorts. She rubbed her eyes and sat across from him, smiling.

"I thought I heard someone up. I figured it was you. Can't sleep?" She asks softly, her presence somehow calming.

"Yeah...I don't know why. I just can't." He replies, looking down at his hands.

"Me neither." She says, tracing her fingers along the table. He tried to sneak a glance at her, but she was already looking at him.

"Thank you, by the way." She says, looking directly into his eyes while she talked. That was something he couldn't do.

"For what?" He asks, slightly confused.

"My parents don't care about me. They haven't since the divorce...I feel like I have a family again with you guys. I finally have a family to spend Christmas with this year." She says, smiling briefly.

"You're always welcome here. Always. We love you." He says, standing up to pull her into a hug. It was easier to say 'we love you' but what he really meant was 'I love you'. He wanted to hold her forever and never let go.

"Do you want to watch another movie? Until we fall asleep?"

"Yeah," He nods, a hint of a smile showing on his face. "That sounds good."

"Come on," She smiles, and they walk into the living room. They agree on a movie, and both sit on the couch.

It was dark and they sat pretty far apart, but it was only five minutes in when she smiled at him and got closer. His heart was pounding in his ears and his breath was short, and it was like she was the only person in the world. She crawled towards him, and traced her fingers softly on his neck. He was convinced he had fallen asleep and dreamt the past twenty minutes.

"I still owe you a kiss." She whispers, even though they're the only two people who would be able to hear it anyway.

"I…You don't owe me anything. It was just a dare." He laughs nervously, his voice cracking.

"I never back out of a dare." She replies, leaning closer and smiling. It was happening.

She closed her eyes, and eventually so did he. She held her body to his and wrapped her arms around his neck, before pressing her lips to his. His hands found her waist, holding her against him. They sat there with their lips against each other's, before she started moving. She pulled back for a brief second, before colliding her lips with his again. They both tilted their head opposite of each others; pulling the other as close as they could. Their kiss when he had his panic attack was amazing, but it was rushed. This was different. It felt like they had all the time in the world, and his head was spinning. He felt something stir deep in his stomach, as she sucked on his bottom lip. It was nothing like he had always imagined this would be like; it was so much better.

"Mmmm..." She says, pulling away. She looked at him and laughed, before snuggling against his chest.

They laid down as if nothing had happened, and he wrapped his arms around her as they watched the movie. He pulled the blanket over them, holding her tightly. His hands were shaking and he felt like he was in shock, but he wanted to act normal.

"Why are you wearing shorts and a t-shirt in fifty-degree weather?" He asks, whispering into her hair. It smelled like peppermints and vanilla; a heavenly mix that filled his nose.

"I want to be comfy. And look good." She laughs, and he can feel it vibrate against him. He was sure she could feel his heart racing against her back, and he wondered if hers was doing the same.

"Ahh," He laughs, discreetly making sure she was fully covered by the blanket, warm enough.

"Merry Christmas, Stiles," She sighs sleepily, placing her hand on top of his.

"Merry Christmas, Lydia." He says, smiling stupidly. He fell asleep happy and content; holding her against him. He didn't have any trouble falling asleep this time.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke up just as the sun was starting to rise. He felt like a child again; too tired to fall asleep because it was Christmas. He suddenly remembered that he was sleeping with Lydia. She had turned around in his arms sometime during the night, and her lips were pressed to his neck; her hot breath fanning against it. Her legs were wrapped around his, and one of her hands were pressed to his back. The couch was tiny; both of their bodies wrapped around each others so they wouldn't fall off.

He remembered that they kissed. He hadn't had much experience, but he knew for sure it was the best kiss he's ever had. He was convinced that it was actually the best kiss he will _ever_ have.

He wanted to stay there and lay with her forever, but he was too excited. He sat up and shook her awake.

"Lydia, wake up! It's Christmas!" He says, and she groans, burying her face in the cushion.

"Stiles, it has to be like, six in the morning." She whines, pulling the blanket over her head.

"Lydia, you're not freakin' going back to sleep." He says, pulling the blanket off of her.

"Jesus Christ, Stiles, it's freezing!" She yells, trying to rip it from his grip. He throws it across the room, and she groans.

"You're such a dick," She laughs and looks at him briefly. He notices a look cross her face, like she was remembering something. He knew what it was, too. The kiss. She opens her mouth like she's about to say something, but she quickly shuts it back without saying a word. She glances at his lips, and he gulps; feeling the growing tension between them. She throws a pillow at him and laughs, and he picks her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

"You're not going to be a grinch! We're going to wake the others up." He says, and she's squealing as he walks upstairs.

"Stiles, put me down!" She laughs, pounding her fists against his back. "Are you gonna spank me? Have I been a bad girl, Stiles?" She asks, trying to make him so uncomfortable that he let her go. He was used to the sexual comments now, though.

"I will if you want." He laughs, and she groans and hits his back again. He busts through the door of the guest bedroom to wake Scott and Liam up. But Kira was now in there with them. She was awake too, and she was shaking Scott and Liam to wake them.

"Merry Christmas!" She tells Stiles and Lydia as they walk in, and Stiles sets Lydia back down on the ground. She fixed her shirt and huffed; rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. But she couldn't hide the slight smile on her face. Stiles jumped on the bed, making Scott yelp with pain.

"Stiles!" He whines, rubbing his leg.

"It's Christmas! Get up!" He says, before shaking Liam awake. "Liam wake up!"

He hears Lydia laughing, and Scott and Liam groan; not wanting to wake up. Eventually they sit up, and Scott smiles at Kira, pulling her in and hugging her.

"Merry Christmas everyone." Scott says, ruffling Liam's hair.

"Let's go downstairs. We can have some cookies and milk." Lydia says, slipping her fingers between Stiles'. He looked at her confused, but she's still looking over at the others on the bed; pretending nothing was happening. She turned and pulled him downstairs with her; the others trailing behind them and laughing about something. He decided not to waste the opportunity, so he held her hand tighter, squeezing it gently. Her eyes met his for a second, before she unlaced their fingers, pulling the fridge open. He felt his heart sink. His mood could change from extremely-happy to extremely-sad in a matter of seconds.

"Who wants some?" She asks, plastering a smile across her face. They all cheered, and she poured glasses for each of them.

"All of our cookies are gone. I knew I should have made more." Lydia whines, and they all pout.

"Hey, I actually...I have something. I'll be right back." Kira says, disappearing in te living room to find her bag. They all looked at Scott, wondering if he knew anything, but he shrugged his shoulders, just as in the dark as they were.

"Okay.." She smiles shyly, walking in the room with a container in her hands. She opens the lid, and various forms of cookies are displayed. "So these are called Hangwa. They are Korean cookies. My mom and I made them. For all of us."

"That's awesome!" Scott says, standing up so he can get a better look. He wraps his arms around her happily, and kisses her forehead.

"Thank you so much, Kira." Stiles says, and they all give their thanks multiple times. They all tasted them, and it didn't take long for them to all be gone. Kira looked beyond happy.

"I'm glad you like it." She grins, and Scott just smiles at her.

"I know I said I wouldn't get you guys anything, but it's not much." Stiles says, handing out their stockings. They all thanked him, and he was so happy to be there with them. He looked over at Lydia, and she was already watching him. She quickly averted her eyes; pretending she wasn't staring. He couldn't help but smile.

"Let's go watch a movie." Lydia says, faking to clear her throat. Stiles walks behind her, and playfully wraps his arms around her; resting his chin on her head.

"Stop," she says, biting her lip to hold in her laughs.

"No. You need to cheer up." He laughs, and they start play-fighting on the couch. She gives in, letting him pin her down.

"Tell me what's wrong." He says, trying to make his breaths even. He glances over at the others, still in the kitchen talking. They were alone.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." She says, giving a weak effort to wriggle from his grip.

"Right. And I'm supposed to believe that?" He asks, looking in her eyes.

"What's going on in here?" They hear Scott say, and both turn their heads to see them all watching. Lydia takes that chance to push him off; knocking him flat against his back on the floor.

"Jesus, Lydia." He says, feeling pain shoot through his back. She shrugs her shoulders, crossing her legs on the couch.

"So? What were you two doing?" Scott asks, crossing his arms and staring at them. Stiles scrambles onto the couch next to her; feeling like he was getting lectured by a parent.

"Nothing." Lydia finally says, looking up at them.

"Hmmm.." Scott says, narrowing his eyes at them suspiciously.

"Let's do something. It's Christmas!" Kira cuts in excitedly.

"Like what?" Stiles asks, wanting to do something himself.

"We never finished our truth or dare game." Liam says, eyeing Stiles. No one knew that Stiles and Lydia _really had_ finished it.

"_We_ did. Stiles and Lydia are the only ones who didn't." Scott said, trying one last time to get them together. Stiles looks over at Lydia, and he knows she didn't want to tell about last night. "You have to do a dare."

"God, let's just get it over with, then." Lydia rolls her eyes, but he could tell she was skittish.

"Yeah, Lydia never backs out of a dare." Stiles says, thinking of last night.

"Shut up!" Lydia says angrily, hitting his arm. Of course the other three had no idea what it meant, but it meant something between them.

"Ow!" He laughs, rubbing his arm.

"Let's just do it." She sighs, faking annoyance. She leaned in, and pressed a quick peck against his lips.

"What?! That does not count." Liam says, crossing his arms. It wasn't much, but it still left Stiles speechless. He didn't think he could ever get used to kissing her.

"It was a kiss! You weren't specific on how long it should be." She says, shrugging her shoulders.

"Lydia, that wasn't a real kiss and you know it." Kira says, and that made everyone quiet. Everyone listened when she talked, because it was something she didn't do much.

"Fine." Lydia says, not being able to argue. "It's not a big deal, anyway. Come here, Stiles." She murmurs, sitting closer to him. She wanted to prove them all wrong about how well she really can kiss, but nothing could have prepared him for what she was about to do. This is how Lydia showed people not to make her angry.

She wrapped her arms around his neck like last night, but she was rough this time. Her fingernails sunk into the back of his neck, and he held his hands on her waist. Her mouth moved hard against his, and he was quickly running out of breath. His hands were shaking furiously as he held her, trying desperately to keep at her pace. His mind was everywhere; thinking of her lips on his and how he was holding her. She pushed him down against the couch, and crawled on top of him.

"Woah, Lydia." Scott says, making her pull away. Stiles had never wanted to punch Scott more than he did right now. "If this is gonna be the first time Stiles gets laid, I'm sure he doesn't want it to be in front of other people."

"You're...A virgin?" Lydia asks, getting off of him and making space between them on the couch. She looked slightly confused, and he noticed her gulp.

"Wow. Thank you, Scott. I definitely wanted everyone to know that." Stiles says with an edge to his voice.

"Sorry, dude." Scott says, quickly realizing that it wasn't a cool fact to tell everyone.

"Not Erica? Or Cora? I thought..." She says, trailing off into silence.

"Yeah, well..." He replies, running his fingers through his hair. "It's embarrassing."

"It's not _embarrassing_, It's just...I thought you had." She says, using her teeth to tug on her lip.

"Well!" Liam interrupts, breaking the awkwardness. "Let's watch a movie. Or do something."

"I'm sure there's a Christmas movie on." Kira says, flipping the TV on. She switches it to home alone, and everyone sits down in their places they had last night. Stiles and Lydia's legs were touching, but they couldn't look at each other. His palms were sweating, and he wanted to scream at Scott for making this awkward for him, when it should have been the best moment of his life.

"Sorry," She whispers suddenly, only loud enough for the two of them to hear. He looks at her and nods, letting her know everything was fine. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder; wrapping her arms around his. He set his hand on top of hers, and was just happy it was all over with. That's what he thought, at least.


	3. Chapter 3

"I think it's about time for me to go. Mom should be getting off work soon, and I'm pretty sure Kira's parents will want to see her at least some on Christmas." Scott says after the movie's over; patting Stiles on the back as he stood up.

"I should probably go, too." Liam says, not actually giving a reason why.

"Yeah, yeah. Leave me all alone on Christmas, it's fine." Stiles sighs, laughing.

"Lydia said she doesn't have any plans today. Maybe you two could do something." Scott says nonchalantly, which rose suspicion in Stiles. Then he realized why they all decided to leave; so Lydia and Stiles would be alone together.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I don't want you to be alone on Christmas, and I certainly don't want to be either." She says, and panic began to set in. Of course he had been alone with Lydia several times, but it was even scarier now after they had kissed three times (if you counted that peck as a kiss) in the past day. It isn't like he knew how to 'make a move'; he was Stiles. He had basically no experience with girls, especially girls like Lydia. Everything went so nice and smooth last night when they were on the couch, but everything was always different at night.

None of them had questioned why Lydia and Stiles had both been missing from their beds in the morning; they had already guessed in their minds why. He knew he had to talk to Scott. He needed advice desperately.

"Awesome!" He tells Lydia, setting his hand on his hip so he wouldn't fall over. "Scott, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah, dude." Scott smiles and follows him into the kitchen, as if there was nothing wrong in the world.

"Scott, what the hell do I do?!" He whispers harshly, doubling over and trying to breathe.

"Relax! It won't be bad. This could be what you were always hoping for!" Scott replies, patting his back encouragingly.

"Just...Tell me what to do. Give me some good advice, please." He begs, completely freaking out.

"Okay, okay, I'll try. What happened last night? I need to know what's going on before I give you advice." He says, and Stiles sits down in a chair.

"Right. Okay, I couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs. I sat down right here, and then a few minutes later she came down, saying she couldn't sleep either. She told me thank you for having a place to spend Christmas, and then we both sat on the couch. A few minutes into a movie...I don't know, she just got really close. She said that she never backed out of a dare, and then...she kissed me." He gulps, clenching his fist nervously.

"What?! Seriously? What else happened?" Scott asks, desperate for the rest of the story.

"What do you mean 'what else'? It was because of the dare, that was it!" Stiles says, beginning to feel hopeless that he must have done something wrong.

"Stiles, you really don't know anything about girls, do you?" Scott asks, practically face-palming.

"Scott, I'm pretty sure we've established this little fact already!" Stiles says, throwing his hands in the air.

"She wanted you to make a move! She might as well have been yelling it at you!" Scott says, groaning.

"What? No way." Stiles replies, his heart racing.

"Yes way. Dude, it's so obvious." Scott says, laughing.

"Well, what do I do? What the hell do I do, Scott?" He asks, freaking out.

"Just...casually tell her how you feel." Scott suggests, shrugging his shoulders.

"How the hell am I supposed to 'casually' tell her how I feel?! 'Oh, hi Lydia. Just wanted to tell you I've been in love with you since third grade. Anyway, are you hungry?' It doesn't friggin' work like that!" He says, exasperated.

"Okay, okay just...kiss her again. And then ask her out." Scott says calmly.

"I can't just...How do I just kiss her? What if she pulls away and doesn't want to?" He says, burying his face in his arms.

"She won't pull away, Stiles! She kissed you last night, so obviously she wanted to. You'll know when the time's right." He says, nodding his head.

"Fine." Stiles groans, standing up from his chair. He was dreading every second that passed.

"Ready?" Scott asks Kira, pulling her into his side. She smiles and nods, and they end up giving Liam a ride home. They said their goodbyes, and all discreetly wished him luck as they left. He thought he was going to pass out.

"Hey, Stiles," Lydia says, making him jump slightly. "Woah, relax." She laughs, putting her hand on his arm, which actually made him freak out even more. "I was just going to make some cookies. I figured I could leave some here and also give some to my mom maybe."

"Yeah, that's fine," He says, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "I need to take a shower anyway."

"Alright," She smiles, and darts her eyes between his. Suddenly she turns around, and wordlessly searches through the cabinets for supplies. He could have sat there all day watching her. Her eyebrows were knitted together with concentration, and she was biting her lip. He felt light-headed just looking at her.

"Stiles. Where's the flour at?" She asks, snapping him out of his daydream (again).

"Under that cabinet over there." He laughs nervously, gulping.

"Right." She nodded suspiciously, and turned around to grab it.

"I'm gonna go take a shower now." He says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Um, right. You do that." She laughs, measuring the flour into the bowl. He just wished she would look at him, but she couldn't care less. How was he ever supposed to find the 'right time'?

He sighed and went upstairs, grabbing a new set of boxers and pajamas. He went in the bathroom and took a hot shower; trying hard to clear his mind. He got out and dried off, sliding his boxers on. As soon as he was about to put his sweatpants on, the door flew open.

"Lydia, what the hell?!" He asks, tripping over his discarded clothes on the ground. He grabbed for anything he could cover himself with, but his hands were empty when his heels hit the bathtub.

"Will you relax?" She laughs, running her hands under the sink. "The kitchen water has horrible pressure, so I thought I'd come up here."

"You just - you burst in the room unannounced! I could have been naked for all you knew!" He says, feeling exposed even though he had boxers on.

"It isn't like I haven't seen someone naked before!" She turns to him, throwing her hands in the air. Her eyes skim up and down his body, and she tilts her head and bites her lip. "Hmm. Move your hands."

"What? Why?!" He asks, feeling intimidated under her stare.

"God," She rolls her eyes, stepping forward and grabbing his hands. She peels them off of his chest, and looks him up and down fully a few times. "Wow."

"Is that a good or bad 'wow'?" He asks, completely self-conscious. She was just staring at him, and it made him uneasy.

"Definitely good. Jesus, Stiles, where have you been hiding this body?" She practically growls, grinding her teeth. "Oh my God."

"You're violating me," He shrinks away from her touch, hurriedly putting his clothes on.

"Sorry, it's just...wow, Stiles." She laughs, fanning herself. He has seen some of the guys she's dated, and he couldn't believe she was impressed with him.

"Thanks, Lydia." He laughs nervously, feeling an inkling of confidence.

"Anyway," She blinks hard, as if she snapped out of a daze. "I need to get the cookies out of the oven."

"Yeah. I'll be down in a minute." He laughs, and she hurriedly walks downstairs. He looks at himself in the mirror, and splashes cold water in his face. He couldn't believe that actually just happened. He shakes his head, and walks into his room. He falls face-first into his bed; smiling hugely. He was so happy.

"Stiles!" He heard her yell from downstairs, and he immediately sat up with alertness. "I need your help!"

"I'm coming!" He says, hurriedly going downstairs. "What's wrong?"

"Where are the oven mitts? I can't find any." She says, holding a hand on her hip.

"Jesus, Lydia, I thought something bad happened!" He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"If these cookies don't get out soon, they'll burn! That's bad enough!" She says impatiently.

"God. Okay, they're in that drawer I think." He sighs, pointing to one. She grabs some, and pulls two pans of cookies from the oven. She turns to him and sighs; wiping flour from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"You know, you really need to loosen up some." She says, looking up at him. "We actually have a break from all of this crazy stuff, and we don't have to worry for a little while at least. You shouldn't waste it. It freaks me out to see you so on edge all the time."

"Really?" He gulps, and she nods. Was this the right time? He couldn't tell. She was looking at him, and it would be so easy to reach up and kiss her. As soon as he mustered up the courage, the oven started beeping.

"I thought I turned that stupid thing off," She laughs, and presses a button. He breathes in heavily, and leans against the counter with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you want to do?" He asks, running his fingers through his damp hair. "We have all day. It's barely even nine A. should have slept in later."

"Who's fault is that?" She replies, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yeah, yeah..." He replies, scratching his neck and laughing. "I guess it could be partly mine."

"Partly? Sure, Stiles." She laughs, shaking her head. "I need to shower, then we can do something. Okay?" She says, passing him to get to her bag.

"That's fine," He replies, watching her as she pulled some clothes from it. She smiles briefly and pushes past him; going upstairs.

He walks in the living room, and plops down on the couch. His eyelids felt more and more heavy as the seconds went passed, and he only just now realized how completely exhausted he was. He tried to think of a plan on how to kiss Lydia, but his mind was too drained to think of any plausible idea. He tried to waken himself a few times after his thoughts slipped into blackness, but eventually he let sleep take over him. He could think of something after he had gotten some rest.


	4. Chapter 4

He woke up as he felt someone next to him. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was, or _who_ it was. He was on the couch. It was Lydia. His concept of time was skewed from his slumber, and he had no idea how long he had slept. He might have been awake, but he didn't open his eyes. Maybe because he was too tired to open them, or maybe because he was curious to see how she acted while she thought no one was watching.

She spread a blanket across both of their bodies, and then laid her head on his arm. Her hair was still pretty wet, so he figured he must have only slept for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. She smelled amazing, and his head was whirling.

Suddenly she turned around in his arms, and pressed her back against his chest. She tangled her legs with his, and let her head rest on his arm. He wanted desperately to wrap his arm around her and pull her closer, but he knew it probably wasn't the best idea.

"Stiles," She whispered, and it took everything in him to not open his eyes. He was going to wait until the third time she called his name to respond, but she only called it twice.

"Useless," He heard her laugh quietly, as she reached up, and pulled his arm around her. It was snaked around her waist, and her small hand was on top of it. They were completely cuddling now. She turned her head slightly, and pressed a gentle kiss to his arm, before snuggling against him and quickly falling asleep. It took a few minutes for his heart to stop pounding, but when it did, he slipped into the darkness of sleep again.

When he woke up the next time, it was because he heard something. He opened his eyes, and quickly realized it was Lydia. She was whimpering like she was afraid, but he could tell she was still asleep. He didn't want to wake her, but he knew she was having a nightmare. He sat up and shook her awake, and she looked terrified. Her hands were shaking as she tucked her hair behind her ear, gulping.

"I'm sorry," She sits up, her voice weak.

"Don't be. I have them too sometimes." He sighs, lacing his fingers with hers. It felt completely natural. He realized he just shouldn't over think things, and do what feels right like Scott had told him.

"Come here." He told her, pulling her closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her again, and she clutched onto his shirt tightly. She laid her head on his chest, and quickly fell back asleep. He wasn't tired any more, though, so he laid there and held her.

Her hair was soft and her body was so small against him. His heart hurt from how much he really loved her, and that she would probably never even know. He laid there for probably forty-five minutes just staring at the wall thinking. In other circumstances it would have been overwhelmingly boring, but he was with her, and he wouldn't have wanted to do anything else in the world right now.

"Mmm, how long have you been awake?" She stretches; smiling up at him. He wanted to wake up to this everyday for the rest of his life.

"I couldn't go back to sleep after we woke up." He laughs, and they both sit up. He only just realized how numb his arm was from her laying on it for so long.

"What time is it?" She yawns, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Hmm," He says, reaching into his pocket for his phone. "Almost twelve."

"Wow, we slept for a while." She laughs, snuggling her face in his shirt. "You smell so good."

"Thanks," He laughs, his mouth feeling dry. She was always overly affectionate when she was tired, and he knew that. He just wished it could always be like this. He wanted to wake up next to her every day, he wanted her to hug him, kiss him, _love_ him, like it was a normal thing. Like couples do.

"I'm so hungry," She laughs, pushing her hair out of her face. He had never seen her in such a good mood. It threw him off a little, but he liked it.

"Let's go make something, then." He replies, her good mood rubbing off on him. He tried to suppress the huge smile on his face, but he was too happy to hide it. He wishes he didn't have to hide it.

"Yeah. Good idea." She nods, walking into the kitchen. "It's Christmas, so we'll have to make something for lunch and dinner. No restaurants will be open."

"Yeah." He says, scratching his neck. She was planning on staying for _dinner_. He liked the idea of both of them being together for that long. "I don't know how much stuff we have though. Since mom died...We just don't really know how to go grocery shopping. He just sends me if we need anything, really."

A look of sadness crosses her face, but only briefly. It went away quickly, and then she turned and laughed. "Boys are helpless. It's ridiculous." She laughs again, turning around to face him; leaning against the counter.

"It really is true." He replies, laughing. He found himself inching closer to her as they talked.

"They complain about women all the time, but they can't survive without them, really. You don't realize how much you need us." She says, feeling him getting closer.

"I think I do." He says quietly, and she can't help but think he might not be talking about the same thing she was. He saw her gulp, and he desperately wanted to kiss her. He thought this was the right time, but he wasn't sure. Aren't you supposed to be sure about these things?

"Friday I can...you and I can go to the grocery store together. I can...you know...teach you how to, um...shop." She replies, biting her lip nervously. He could hardly breathe. She ran her fingers up his arm, but he suddenly caught her hand, and backed away.

"Wh—" she starts to say, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm so hungry," he laughs, turning to the fridge. "What do you want to make?"

"Um..." She says as she sucks in a long breath, pressing her hand to her forehead. "I'll be right back." She says, after disappearing to the bathroom upstairs.

"Shit," He whispers, pressing his forehead to the fridge, groaning. _Why do I always mess everything up?_ He decides he can't mess anything up more than he already has, so using his brief spurt of boldness, he runs upstairs after her.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time he got to the top of the stairs, she bumped into him while coming back down.

"Stiles, what are you doing?" She laughs, and his boldness immediately dissipated. No matter how confident he was about an idea, as soon as he would see her, it was gone.

"I was just...I needed to get something from my room." He says, pushing his lips together and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Right," She laughs, raising an eyebrow. She walks past him, laughing. "I'll be making food."

"Okay, I'll be down in a second." He replies, and then walks into his room. He - for the second time today - fell down face-first into his bed. The only difference is that the first time he did that, it was because he was happy. This time he felt completely and utterly ridiculous. He didn't think he'd ever have the guts to do it. He wished he could just grab her and kiss her; telling her how he feels like in the movies, but it was easier in the movies. In real life, there was a good chance that she would push him off and never talk to him again. He wouldn't really blame her.

After a few minutes of thinking, he knew this was going to get him nowhere, and that this was all just a waste of time that he could be spending with her. He groaned, and stood up; running his fingers through his hair. He took in a long, deep breath, and finally went downstairs. She was at the stove, stirring something in a pot.

"Need any help?" He asks, propping his elbows on the counter.

"Actually, yeah. Have you ever cooked noodles before?" She asks, biting her bottom lip. "I think I might be doing this wrong."

"Yeah. My dad and I practically live off of macaroni and cheese." He laughs, walking behind her and wrapping his arms around her. He put his hand over hers and stirred the noodles slowly. He looked down and saw her smiling.

"Thanks," she said quietly, and they could both feel the growing tension again.

"It's nothing," he laughs, propping his chin on the top of her head. "What are you making?"

"Macaroni and cheese," She laughs, which causes him to laugh as well.

"Sounds great," He replies, and she suddenly starts tracing the prominent veins on his other arm. His heart was racing.

"You know what's weird?" She laughs nervously, pulling away so she could look at him.

"What?" He asks, anxious to know what she was going to say.

"Earlier...I mean just a minute ago when we got in here, I thought...I thought you were going to kiss me." She laughs, and looks down at the ground shyly. He sat there in silence, not expecting that at all. She was right, of course, but he didn't think she _knew_. Then again, she was a thousand times smarter than he was. "That _is_ weird, right?"

She looked up at him, waiting for any sort of answer. His mind was completely blank. He opened his mouth to say something, but then he suddenly felt his hand burning.

"Oh my God!" She says, hurriedly turning the heat lower on the stove. The pot had boiled over, and the water had burnt his hand. She grabbed his hand and he tried hard not to scream. It was one of the worst amounts of pain he has ever experienced. "Stiles...Are you okay? Oh my God."

"I'm fine." He says, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't think of anything but the searing pain in his hand.

"Just a minute," She gulps with tears in her eyes, and runs her hands through her hair. He knew how well she did in desperate times; a gift that lots of people - including himself - are at loss of. She just needed a few seconds to think. She disappeared upstairs, and a few minutes later came back with a cold rag, bandages, and ointment. "Hold your hand out."

"Okay," He replies, sticking it out. She presses the rag against his hand, and it instantly felt relieved.

"It pulls the heat out." She says, pushing her lips together tightly.

"It feels a lot better," He breathes out, closing his eyes. She smiles and nods.

"I'm going to put this salve on it. It might burn for a second, but it makes it heal a lot faster. I always carry it with me." She laughs, obviously nervous. "Ready?"

"Yeah," He replies. He wants to look down at his hand, but he can't help but watch her. His focused everything on her.

"Okay, it's done." She says, a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you," He says, smiling back. "That was really awesome."

"You're welcome." She laughs, letting out a long breath. "That was a little scary."

"I'm impressed." He says, trying to get rid of the smile on his face. His hand still hurt like hell, but he was focused on her.

"You should be," she laughs, pushing him out of the way. "This is done."

He sat back and watched as she drained the noodles, and then mixed the cheese in. She handed him a bowl, and then they both went and sat on the couch. He hasn't forgotten what she said; it had actually been itching at him since she told him. He just didn't know what to do about it.

"You did a great job." He smiles, looking over at her.

"Gourmet macaroni and cheese." She laughs, shaking her head. After they were done, they set their bowls on the table and watched tv. She laid her head on his shoulder. He knew time was wasting, and he felt like panicking. How could he do this?

"So…" He says, trying to ease his way into a new conversation.

"So…" She replies, laughing. "You seem like you have had something to tell me all day."

"Not really _tell_. More like ask." He gulps, and his pulse was racing. He could do this.

"Okay, well what do you want to know?" She asks, leaning back so she could look at him.

"Why…" He starts to say, looking down at his hands. "Why did you kiss me?"

She hesitated for a fleeting moment. "_That's_ what you wanted to ask? Because Scott was practically forcing us for that ridiculous dare. Did you lose your memory?" She laughs, narrowing her eyes. He didn't know if she was pretending to forget about last night, or if she really had been sleep walking and talking the whole time.

"Not then. I mean last night. You didn't have to do that. Why?" He asks, slightly calmer now that he got out what he was trying to say.

"I don't know." She shrugs her shoulders, swallowing hard and licking her lips; gestures that he had been around her too long to not know was caused by nerves. She hid it well, but it was there.

"Are you serious?" He asks, breathing in and rubbing his neck.

"What do you mean 'are you serious?'" She asks, her voice now with an edge to it.

"That's not a good reason to kiss me, Lydia! Normal people don't just kiss someone when they get bored. Or whatever reason you had." He replies, clenching his jaw. The answer he wanted was 'because I wanted to' or 'because I'm in love with you'. Not 'I don't know'. He wasn't mad, but he was hurt.

"I think that was a good enough reason for you!" She says angrily, breathing heavily from her mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, trying to calm his voice.

"You...You practically were asking me to kiss you! Maybe you didn't mean to, but I know boys, and I know how they work. You kept staring at my lips when I talked, and you held me on the couch. I could even feel you staring at me while we were watching those movies." She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, I know how teenage boys are. They don't care about you, they just want sex and…"

"Lydia, stop. Of course I care about you, are you friggin' kidding?!" He stands up, pressing his hand to his forehead in disbelief. "Lydia, I….."

"What?" She gulps, tears stinging her eyes as she waited with anticipation for an answer. He sat back down on the couch, running his fingers roughly through his hair. He didn't know how to get out the words he wanted, and he was irritated. He had pictured this moment since he could remember, and he couldn't believe it was on the brink of getting ruined already.

"Nothing. It's just not true." He replies, sighing.

"Stiles, every boy I've ever dated didn't really care about me. They only cared about the popularity and sex they got from me. You all have a good way of lying about how you really feel." She admits, chewing on her lip.

He didn't know what to say. She was right, though; he knew that's what most boys cared about. She was right about the second one, too. He had been hiding his feelings for her since he was a kid. He was great at it by now. He didn't have the words to tell her his real feelings, and he didn't even know if she would believe him if he did manage to get it out. So he showed her. He dropped all of his fears and nerves, and kissed her. He cupped her face with his hand, and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, trying not to think of the horrible things that might come next.


	6. Chapter 6

"What the _hell_ was that?" She asks, pulling away from his embrace. Panic rose inside of him, and he felt his chest tightening. She looked at him confused and surprised, and he thought for sure that she was going to slap him.

"I just...I don't know." He gulps, copying the exact words that he had just been angry at her for saying. Her face was indecipherable, and he just wished he could read minds at this very moment. She suddenly grabbed his face, and pulled him towards her. She kissed him long and slow, barely moving her lips. It took half of the kissing duration just for him to process what was happening. He didn't know what this meant, but he was too excited to care in the moment. He could only think of her. Her lips were unbearably smooth against his, and it was just like he was kissing her for the first time all over again. He - as much of a cliche as this was - had butterflies in his stomach.

"Lydia…" He pulls away and looks at her. He had to tell her now before he lost his courage.

"Stiles, you don't know how long I've waited for you to do that." She breathes out, smiling. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Not nearly as long as I have, I promise." He laughs, swallowing hard and trying to act calm. He wanted to know why she kissed him. Was it the same reason he had kissed her? "Do you want to...Go out with me sometime? Maybe?"

"Go out? Like...a date?" She asks nervously, biting her lip.

"Yeah." Is all he says, waiting nervously for a reply. She opens her mouth to reply - his heart was racing - but then her phone starts to ring.

"Ah, sorry." She says, running to her purse that was across the room. "It's my mom."

He nods at her once, and then sits there awkwardly waiting. The longer he was left alone, the worse he felt about everything. She kissed him last night, so maybe she thought this was some sort of 'friends with benefits' kind of thing that his kiss somehow made her think he wanted. He couldn't imagine that she would ever want that from him, though, and that's not at all what he wanted from her. He knew he sounded mushy and romantic, but he wanted to pick her up for school every morning, and hold her hand on the way while they took turns listening to their favorite songs. He wanted to watch the clock count down in class everyday, and his heart would race as the bell rung and he left, knowing he'd meet Lydia in the hall. He wanted them to sneak out like normal teenagers do, driving around all night laughing and just talking. He wanted to be able to put his arm around her, hold her, kiss her. He wanted all of it, not just that minor part. Of course he would love to have sex with her, that was obvious, but not just because it felt good. It was because he wanted to be as close to her as he possibly could, to make _her_ feel good in every possible way.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. Again.

"Hey, sorry." She laughs, awkwardly sitting back down beside him on the couch. They were actually having a moment when he asked her out, and the phone ringing was like a slap in the face. "My mom wants me to come home."

"Really?" He asks, his throat feeling dry.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." She sighs, shaking her head.

"It's alright. I'll just go hang out with Scott and his mom for a while." He says, trying to reassure her that everything was fine. Had she forgotten about what he had asked her? Or was she trying to silently let him down easy by not giving an answer?

"Okay." She smiles, and watches his face for a moment, before getting up. She got her bag ready, and then went in the kitchen, gathering half of the cookies. He slowly followed behind her, and she didn't seemed to mind. He at least wanted to tell her goodbye.

She stopped at the door, and turned around to face him. "Yes."

"Yes...What?" He asks, trying not to get his hopes up that she was answering the question he asked earlier.

"Yes, I'll go on a date with you. Of course I will." She smiles shyly, which was something she didn't do much.

"Okay." He smiles and nods, opening the door for her. She shakes her head and laughs. "Wait, Lydia."

"Mhmm?" She asks, turning around to face him again.

"Can I kiss you?" He asks, brushing the cool skin on her face gently. Where had this confidence come from?

"I hate it when people ask if they can kiss me. Just FYI." She says, shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't care. I'll ask anyway." He says, mirroring her gesture by shrugging his shoulders, too.

"What? Why?" She asks, surprised by his response.

"What if you don't want to kiss me? I don't want to force myself on you. I want to be sure, I guess." He replies, getting confused on why she didn't understand that.

"Fine." She pushes her lips together, faking to be annoyed. She couldn't hide the smile on her face, though. "And...Yes. Again."

"Good." He smiles, stepping forward to stand directly in front of her. She smiled up at him, laughing and rolling her eyes as he brought his hands up to cup her cheeks. He smiled back down, knowing how much she hated all of this cheesy stuff. That was okay with him.

"This is ridiculous. You're such a romantic. It's weird." She laughs, laying her fists on his chest.

"Okay." Was all he said, smiling as he finally pressed his lips to hers. It was a long, slow kiss; all of the built up love for her finally pouring out. He had contemplated saying, 'I don't care if it's ridiculous, Lydia, I've dreamt this moment since middle school.' but 'Okay' seemed to fit just fine.

He would tell her one day. He would tell her that his feelings for her had dated long before the day he asked her out. He was sure she knew to some degree, but she could never really know how much.

When they told Scott, Kira, and Liam that they were dating, they all said 'finally!'. Lydia laughed and blushed.

He made it a habit of grabbing one of those beautiful purple flowers that grew by his steps outside, and giving it to her everyday when he picked her up for school. She'd roll her eyes everyday when he handed it to her, not being able to give away her cool-girl face, but he would still do it the next day. She always took it.

She told him that he was the only boy she ever wanted to wait for, and that was fine with him. She didn't want sex to ruin anything, and he understood. There did come a night, though, when he came over to watch movies while her mom was away, and their kissing got too heated. Neither knew it was going to happen that night, but that made it even more perfect. She had never felt this way about any boy she had ever dated. Not even close.

He never forgot the night the she told him that she didn't feel like a family with her parents, so he invited her over every night to eat dinner with him and his dad. Her dad loved having her around, and he claimed he was more than happy because her tutoring skills got Stiles having all A's again. When they had family movie nights, he made sure she was there. He never said it out loud, but she suspected it was because of what she had told him that night before they kissed on the couch. That made her fall even more in love with him. She really did have a family now. They were both happy.


End file.
